The return of Albedo
by Phantom Rottweiler
Summary: Albedo returns to the Ben 10 universe only to create havoc and chaos, his intentions still remain the same...acquire the Omnitrix. Some language, minor acts of cartoon style violence in later chapters.
1. Blindsided

DISCLAIMER: Do I have to say it, yes, do I want to, yes and no…nothings mine…[pouts]

THE RETURN OF ALBEDO

The sky was dark; the night unusually cool as a light wind ruffled through the hair of Ben Tennyson and Julie Yamamoto as they walked hand in hand at the Pier. Several months have passed since their first night together when she found out about his abilities in order to help a stranded Mechomorph pilot whom crash landed, in the woods, just outside of their home town of Bellwood.

With a slight giggle from Julie, Ben looked over to her with his toxic green eyes. Ben found it ironic; when he was around anyone else, he could manage grammatically correct speech…however, when he was around Julie, his mind tripped over itself creating an effective block to keep the words from escaping his lips. He loved her, boy did he ever love her, but he could never manage to adequately express it.

"What's so funny?" Ben managed at least that much without finding himself tongue tied as he had countless times before.

"I'm just thinking back to our first time out here and when…wait, why is your hand so sweaty?"

Even though it was night time, Julie could clearly see a defined pinkish tint cresting Ben's cheeks as she leaned in closer and closer until their lips touched. It was faint; wet but not too wet; for a fleeting second, Ben felt as though his knees were going to buckle at any second. Ultimately she pulled back slightly while staring into his eyes. She giggled again, this one softer, a little more subtle.

"I had a fun time, Ben. I'll see you tomorrow?" she smiled leaning in for one more quick kiss before turning to leave. Watching her depart, a quivering smile crept across his face as without conscious thought of it, brought the tips of his fingers to his lips. _She kissed me…twice…_ his thoughts stretched from slumber _…and I didn't do anything stupid…_

"Yeah!" Ben shouted throwing his hands straight up into the air forcing a few people around him to stop and see what the commotion was about; Julie kept walking, even without looking back, she knew what he was doing.

_X_

"It was great…" Ben half sang half chanted as he sidestepped up and down from street to curb for half a block "…really awesome date…" he sprang up onto a light pole and swung around it before touching his feet to the street once again while taking a silly amount of time to get home. Although his parents would worry, they usually didn't mind a few minutes here or there, as long as he had a believable excuse; but he wasn't going to go telling them that he was dancing around making a fool of himself because Julie kissed him. He had an open relationship with his parents, but there were still _some_ things that he preferred to keep to himself.

That very moment he stopped and turned to the darkness past the glow of the street light; to his right, something rustled the foliage of decorative plants. Stillness. Sensing nothing out of the ordinary he continued walking, although with a brisker pace to save a few seconds. Another rustle; this time he stopped, turned to the plants and instinctively held his right hand over his left wrist.

"Okay Kevin, come on out, I know you're there…" Ben laughed trying not to let his nerves run amuck. _Please let it be Kevin…_ he thought taking a step closer to the brush. Pushing the greenery away, prepared himself for what lay ahead. To his utter relief, when what he found in the clearing was a lone black furred kitten with almost glowing yellow eyes. Seeing this, he couldn't but help laugh and feel foolish of himself for thinking it was something more sinister. With a quick meow, the kitten hesitantly approached and started brushing itself against the legs of his jeans.

"Well, you can't be all bad" he chuckled kneeling down and picking up the kitten to check for a collar or tags. Almost instantly he noticed the glitter of a tag, squinting to see, the word Albedo struck him almost instantly. "That is one weird name for a kitten" again he uttered pulling out a small cell phone to dial the number listed below the animals name.

A high pitched ringing from behind was the last thing he heard before the world went black. Ben's unconscious body toppled to the ground with the kitten leaping free of his hand.

_X_

"Ugh…ow…" Ben grunted sitting up and rubbing the dull throb pounding on the back of his head. Forcing his eye open the dull throbbing only grew worse. The room was cold and dim; from what he could make out, he were in a brick lined room with only one door and no windows. Right off the bat, he noticed that his green jacket had been removed leaving only his usual black shirt and blue jeans. A misty puff of breath reminded him of the cold as he drew his arms over his chest to keep warm; the moment he felt a sharp electrical shock, he looked down to see a neon blue energy shield encompassing the Omnitrix; his eyes suddenly grew wide as he realized someone wanted him here…without any means to fight back.

_Whom would want to do this to me?_ His mind tried making sense of everything as the pain started to lessen. _It wouldn't be Gwen or Kevin. Not my parents or Gwen's parents. Whomever it is has a serious grudge, but who? The only one I can think of is Albedo, but he's in some intergalactic prison however far away it is from earth. And why is it so cold in here?_

"Ben Tennyson…we meet again…" Ben sprang up hearing the voice that seemed familiar although unknown.

"Who and where are you!" Ben shouted looking around only to find brick walls and nothing but brick walls and the lone metal door.

Suddenly he took several steps back as Albedo - wearing Ben's green '10' jacket - appeared out of thin air directly in front of him.

"Albedo!"

"Ben!"

"I should have known"

"But you didn't!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't…" Ben trailed off noticing Albedos white hair inexplicably a brunet color "…wait…how did you…"

Albedo stared Ben as he tried everything to keep an evil sneer from creeping across his face. "There is no jail that can keep me in. And with your jacket, and these things you humans call hair dye and contacts, I think I'm once again a perfect semblance to you; as much as it sickens me to do so. Now, if you don't mind, I shall pay your friends a little visit before I come back to eliminate you so I can have the true Omnitrix" with this, Albedo transformed into Big Chill leaving Ben absolutely stunned "Before you ask, I had plenty of these things laying around just in case something like this were to happen!" was all he uttered before turning clear and slipped through the door.

_I have to warn them…_ Ben thought searching his pockets for anything of use. A couple of quarters, a small comb, two bits of candy bar wrappers and a stick of gum. His eyes grew wide seeing electrical components of a destroyed device that somewhat resembled a cell phone scattered around the ground of the far corner.

Albedo stopped and turned hearing a vehicle approaching from behind, turning back, he grinned slightly seeing Kevin's car, Kevin driving it and Gwen in the front passenger seat.


	2. Blending in

DISCLAIMER: What? Again with this! Agh…okay, fine, not my property.

CHAPTER 2: BLENDING IN

"So, Ben, you and Julie doing the lateral tango yet?" Kevin asked Ben as they stood at the front of his car; Gwen remained within sight as she waited in line of Mr. Smoothie.

"Not yet" was all Albedo could manage without throwing any signs of misplacement. Kevin stared at him for one of two reasons; the first was to see if Ben's eye twitched, the other, to see if he could make the younger blush. Both broke off the conversation as Gwen came up with three cups in hand; Kevin gratefully taking one as Albedo stared at the one held out to him.

"Kiwi strawberry banana, your favorite, remember?" Gwen nearly thrust the cup into his hands.

"Oh, yes, _my_ favorite" _This isn't going to be as easy as I thought_. Suddenly Albedo looked down to his stomach as a pressure slowly grew from within; his face contorted unsure of what to do as the pressure grew more while making it's way up to his throat. _What's going on!_

It was a sudden deep rumbling that exploded from his gaping mouth.

"I sicken myself" Albedo growled with Gwen looking sternly at him and Kevin laughing raucously.

"Ben! If you're going to belch, at least excuse yourself" she sighed putting the palm of her hand across her face.

"Dude!" Kevin managed to catch at least one breath "You sent birds flying away…I didn't know you had it in you!" he reached up and slapped Albedo hard across the back forcing yet another loud, deep and almost longer belch which resulted in Kevin laughing harder and Gwen contemplating walking away.

"Curse this pathetic form!"

"Ben?" She glared at him "For a moment, you sounded like Albedo"

"It must be the Omnitrix or something…some kind of two way telepathy"

_X_

Ben slammed full force into the metal door hoping to make something happen. Unfortunately the only thing that did happen was him falling to the ground out of breath and hurting.

Nothing. Not even a budge; let alone a dent or even a scrape.

"No!" Ben sighed drawing his knees close to his chest before slinging his arms around the jeans "I…I'm trapped here, like a rat…" he closed his eyes and shook his head. _Gwen…Kevin, mom, dad, Julie…_ his thoughts raged as the silence drove into his ears.

Alone in the room seemingly feeling like death, Ben let glistening streaks crest over his cheeks as he wondered how long it would be before either someone found him or Albedo came back to finish the job.

_X_

Gwen watched Ben suspiciously; for most of the day he had been acting differently, now in the living room of Kevin's home as he tried to play a game of chess which he knew so well she was sure there was something different about him.

"No Ben, you can't move there" Kevin sighed rolling his eyes; in response Albedo moved the same piece in a different direction. "Nope, not there either"

"INFERIOR TRIVIAL PITIFUL GAME!" Albedo shouted flinging the entire playing board and pieces clear across the room - the action forcing Gwen to step back and Kevin to lower his brows.

"Ben! Calm down! It's just a game" Gwen narrowed her focus on Albedo as he leapt up tightening fisted hands; before anybody knew it, he lunged for Gwen leaving little if any time to react.

Seeing his chance, Kevin too leapt up while shifting his normal peach skin to a glossy metal covering. "If that's the way you want it…" his tone was loud and grating "…that's the way you're going to get it!" With this, he wrapped his arms around Albedo using every ounce of strength to pull the younger away. Thinking double time, Kevin reached for a roll of duct tape on the table by a few open boxes that needed to be sealed; Albedo struggled and grunted trying to break free as Kevin secured his hands behind his back with nearly the entire roll of tape.

"You okay?" Kevin asked to Gwen catching her breath; with a nod, they turned their attention to Albedo on the carpeted floor looking up at them.

"Filthy, pathetic, despicable, disgusting, under evolved, vile, useless vermin that should all be exterminated! Don't you ever lay a disease ridden finger on me again!" Albedo grunted while sitting up using his legs as balance.

"You know…" Kevin chuckled "…you sound almost like Albedo…"

"Filthy mongrel; I _am_ Albedo!"

"No, Ben, you're not Albedo"

"Yes I am!" hearing this Kevin watched for several moments noticing absolutely no hints of twitching in the younger's left eye.

"I knew it!" Gwen shouted drawing neon pink mana around her hands and in her eyes.

"Where is he! What did you do to him!" Kevin growled lifting Albedo up into the air by the front of his shirt "Tell me before I kill you!"

"Buffoon! You kill me and you'll never find him…" Albedo grinned ever so evil. This made Kevin stop dead in his track of thoughts; moments passed as he kept Albedo up.

"I've got ways of making you talk…" Kevin smirked outdoing Albedos look; slowly he turned to Gwen "…Gwen, no matter what you hear, you need to stay out of the garage until I come back out…" he trailed off hauling Albedo towards the garage.

Gwen listened as best as possible through the door. On the other side, rustling, an occasional loud bang and Albedo making horrified sounds drew her curiosity.

_Where is he!_

_You'll never know!_

_Talk!_

_Never! Hey, wait, what are you…get away from me…get your contaminated hand out of there…what…_

Gwen backed away as Albedo released a tormented howl of agony, pressing her ear against the door she listened harder.

_Where!_

_Inferior…NO! Not again…_

Another howl forced Gwen to put her hand on the knob; deep down she wondered if she really wanted to see what was happening on the other side.

_Stop, stop, stop…okay, I give! _

After a few short moments of eerie silence, the knob rattled forcing Gwen to back away; slowly the door opened to reveal Kevin coming back into the rest of the house - using his arm to keep Albedo slung over his shoulder. The moment he passed her, Albedo looked down then away presumably at a hidden shame.

"Kevin? What did you do to him?"

"I got him to tell me where Ben is"

"Where is he?"

"At an abandoned factory just outside of town"

_X_

Albedo sighed with a growl. The space was unsettling confined as he tried to shift his position. As he remained locked in the trunk of the car, Kevin and Gwen sat in the front seats.

"He seems kind of quiet back there…" Gwen trailed off looking to the empty back seat almost seeing through to the trunk and Albedo with his hands still taped behind his back and a new round of tape over his mouth. She were right, but only half right; even though he couldn't verbally communicate his anger he could very well kick and stomp at anything and everything within reach. "I think he's actually afraid of you…" again she trailed off, this time looking over to Kevin seeming a tad too smug.

"I wouldn't be surprised, I did things to him that I really don't want to discuss. But it got the job done" with this he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Yeah…" Gwen sighed as they pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned factory Albedo mentioned earlier "…this just screams hostage holding"


	3. Unexpected hero

DISCLAIMER: Not again…ugh…I lay claim to nothing.

CHAPTER 3 UNEXPECTED HERO

"He isn't here" Gwen shouted. Growling, Kevin reared back and punched through a left over crate. Wood shrapnel went in various directions as he turned to the open door from which they entered a good half hour earlier.

"Then let's go have a friendly chat with our traveling companion" Kevin retained a tense jaw and low narrowed eyes.

Albedo tightened his eyes shut as glaring sunlight broke the previous darkness of the closed trunk; with a grunt and a hidden grin, he brought one foot over the body wall. Kevin reached down, Albedo pulled away only until he realized Kevin was simply going to pull the tape from over his mouth.

"Where is he!"

"Did I say the abandoned factory, I meant the old bus station in the center of town…or was it the vacant warehouse?"

"Quit jerking me around and tell me where the hell he is already!" Kevin shouted grabbing the shoe while discretely placing his hand on the trunk lid.

"Isn't that you pathetic humans want? To be jerked?"

Without warning, Kevin slammed the trunk lid with enough force against Albedo's ankle to cause Gwen to look away and Albedo to holler from the pain "Where is he!"

"I'll…never…tell…" Albedo grunted while drawing sharp deep breaths. Kevin stared him eye to eye just before slamming the trunk lid down again. With two more for good measure, he grabbed Albedo by the shirt.

"Now, I'm asking nicely, tell me where he is before I loose my damn patience"

"No!"

Gwen, watching from the side, saw the change. It was a slow and subtle change, but she picked it up right away; Kevin's un-amused glare turned down right cynical as he narrowed his focus more and tightening his jaw even worse - every muscle in his body tensioning up. A wave of fear and dread coursed through her body; she had only seen this look once or twice before and that was just before he lost all control and went on a rampage letting nothing stop him until his task was completed.

_X_

Ben slammed his fisted hand against the wall. For the past six hours he searched wall by wall, brick by brick hoping to find a weak spot to work at. All he found was solid construction.

"Damn it" he shouted flinging one arm back until it hit the metal shade of a low hanging light; his shadow danced as the light swayed back and forth. Slowly, he glared at the light then to the stasis shield over the Omnitrix. One idea lead to another. His focus returned to the light, upwards towards the ceiling. His eyes widened the moment he found drop down ceiling panels.

The silence was broken by a lone squeak of the door sliding open; fearing the worst, Ben backed into the furthest corner as his eyes fell upon a man wearing all black clothing with a black duster style coat, long raven black hair and a scar running from the center of his forehead - over his left eye ending at the left side of his lower jaw.

Slowly, the man entered further. Ben backed away until he could go no further. The man raised his arm out with hand outreached - all four fingers raised and spread apart, Ben closed his eyes and turned away as the mans hand came into contact with his chest. Stillness. Ben couldn't help but look down as he felt four fingers gently patting his chest, the man slowly raised his other hand and gently disabled the stasis shield.

Without saying a word, the man turned to leave. Ben finally managing to draw a breath, raised his hand and called out "Hey, wait!" The man stopped and turned back until they saw face to face. "Who…who are you?" This received a mere grinning smirk as the man opened the left chest flap of the duster to reveal a plumbers badge before he turned away once again.

_X_

"Trust me, Gwen, I've got it under control" Gwen snapped bitter and sarcastic as she and Kevin ducked behind a stack of pallets with Albedo/Echo wondering around freely

"It would have worked"

"If he wasn't trying to KILL us, it might have worked"

"Either do something to help out or shut up about it!"

A flash of light; both teens turned back to find Ben and the strange man in black clothing standing side by side. Instantly, Gwen leapt up wrapping her arms around Ben. Kevin too stood, but merely studied the man.

"You okay, Ben?" she asked checking him over for any signs of wear and tear.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"Who's you're stylin' friend?" Kevin couldn't help but admire the man whom seemed strangely transfixed on Albedo.

"Don't know who he is, but I think he's on our side, got a plumbers badge and all…" Ben's words ceased as the man stepped to Albedo/Echo, the small white alien looking up with large eyes. "Oh, crud" it spoke in a flat tone.

The group of four watched as Echo turned into Jetray and took flight as high as the ceiling would allow. Out of instinct, Ben raised his wrist and slammed down; Big Chill fluttered before turning transparent. Jetray looked around, there were only Kevin, Gwen and the strange man, no Ben or Big Chill to be found. That moment, a blast of frigid artic air hit him forming a complete ice prison around his body. Jetray came crashing down to the floor, almost instantly, the ice shattered leaving Albedo in Ben's form face down and sprawled out.

The man stepped over using one black leather work boot to pin Albedo's left arm to the floor, pulling a small device from his dusters pocket he knelt down and sent electrical pulses into the inferior Omnitrix. Ben, Gwen and Kevin stared in utter disbelief as the entire Omnitrix shorted out sending sparks zinging in every direction.

"No!" Albedo yelled frantically trying to reset the device around his wrist.

"Under article forty seven sub section three of the intergalactic treaty, you are here by placed under arrest and sentenced to exile in the Calorbian Ice Mines of Salus four" the man finally broke his silent state as he lifted Albedo by the back of his shirt and jeans. A blue vortex formed on the closest wall; the man carrying Albedo stepped to but stopped just before going through.

"Wait" hearing Ben calling out, he stopped and glared back "Who are you?"

"I go by Kel, and that's all you need to know" the man smirked with a hint of a devious grin "Oh, Azmuth and Paradox send their regards" he winked stepping through the portal. All three teens shared a questioning glare even after the portal vanished into thin air.

* * *

**A/N: **Anybody know whom this mystery man is? This will be answered at the end of the last chap.


	4. Questions answered

DISCLAIMER: Why do I keep saying this? Oh, yeah, that's right; to keep from getting my (censored) sued off! Not mine!

CHAPTER 4 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Gwen sat in the back seat; Ben in the front passenger seat and Kevin in the drivers seat as the car remained in the parking lot of Mr. Smoothie. An air of eerie silence hung thick inside the car broken only by the occasional shuffle of movement and a slurp of drink.

_I didn't actually know the man, but in a way, it felt like I actually do know him…the way he moved, the way he looked, that devious grin…just like…Kevin…_

"Tennyson; you're staring again" Kevin grunted with a sneer while glaring the younger; snapping back to reality, Ben looked away.

"Sorry, I can't stop thinking about Kel"

"I thought you were going out with Julie. Uh-oh, is wittle Benji crushing on someone else?" this was followed by a cackling fit of laughter. Even though Ben looked away, Kevin could see a flush of pinkish red tint cresting his cheeks. _Now that is Ben_.

"I'm not crushing…I'm just wondering about all the similarities between him and_ you_"

"Kevin, Ben's right. There are a lot of similarities between the two of you" Gwen couldn't help but interject her own opinion.

"Coincidence. Nothing more. You're seeing things that aren't there!"

_X_

Albedo dropped to his knees; everything around him was cold, white; uninhabitable. Under the glow of a dark red sky he threw his hands in the air before returning them across his chest to keep warm.

"One day Tennyson. One day I will get my revenge. I will get the Omnitrix. One day, you will pay for everything!" he grumbled as puffs of mist escaped his every released breath.

"Face it kid…" the deep rumbling voice of a tall alien being that was a cross between Four-arms, Jetray and Wild Mutt forded Albedo to look up "…there is no getting out of here. This _IS_ prison" the being spoke before walking off.

A drift of snow sprinkled over Albedo's shoulders; looking towards the sky he found a guard - weapon in hand - tossing down what looked like a leg of a cow "Lunch time!" the guard walked off.

"BRING ME CHILI FRIES!" Albedo couldn't help but shout from frustration before his eyes fell upon the stasis shield over his de-activated Omnitrix.

_X_

"Kel, you're late…or is this thing running fast again?" Paradox quizzed glancing between Kel stepping from another bright blue vortex and his trusty golden pocket watch; even without looking, Kel could see Azmuth staring blankly but full of unasked questions.

"Mission accomplished" Kel grunted - boots thumping past the two; they stared in wonder at his departure as a slam of the door thundered. Making a move to go after him, Azmuth stopped himself with Paradox holding his hand out.

"No, let him have a little time to himself…" Paradox sighed slightly while sitting down on a rickety wooden stool "…poor lad just hasn't been himself since that day"

"I just can't stand to see one of my best hired muscles fall further into the black pits of despair"

In the center of town, Kel stared mindlessly at a massive marble statue of the late great Ben 10; although there was a flurry of activity around him, he felt as though it were just him with hands in the pockets of his duster, the statue and a light sprinkle of rain. Just as every single time he came here over the years, he let his mind wonder back to a time when everything was much simpler. Moments turned to hours. The light sprinkling of rain turned into a flooding downpour soaking everyone and everything.

One arm gently slipped over his left shoulder; another arm softly wrapping around his chest under his right arm; a chin resting on his shoulder and a soft breath whisking the sensitive skin under his ear. He knew the feeling well.

"How'd it go?" the brunet red haired woman asked almost too quiet to be heard.

"Just like any other time travel to a parallel universe" Kel responded taking a deep breath.

"It's okay; we all miss him" hearing this, Kel shut his eyes forcing a lone tear to escape, even without thinking of doing so, his hand raised up to gingerly grip hers at his chest.

"Ten years ago today…" his tone lowered "…but I can still remember what it felt like to have him die right there in my arms"

A light beeping from their pockets drew attention; both pulled out identical Plumbers badges to display a hologram grid of trouble brewing in the old quarter of the city.

"Come in, a good fight always seems to cheer you up" she grinned as they turned to run off to the scene of disturbance.

_X_

Ben tossed and turned. His subconscious mind recalling every aspect of how eerily identical Albedo appeared compared to his alternate red jacket and eyes with white hair. In the nightmare he currently suffered through, Ben could focus on nothing except those cold, lifeless soul-less eyes.

"_Ben; Ben; Ben!_" Albedo's voice echoed in his thoughts until he sprang up in bed - a cold sweat coving not only himself but his clothing and bedding, rapid shallow breaths lead to a lightheaded feeling as he stumbled for the door.

Ben listened to water running from the sink faucet; every cold droplet splashing against his face before falling to the basin refreshed his frayed nerves; alone in the bathroom, he glared to the mirror before drawing a deep breath and backed away. In the time it took him to blink, he saw his normal reflection, Albedo's reflection then his own again.

_This is absurd! He's off in some ice mine on some distant plant in some far away galaxy, there is no possible way he could come back any time soon. _

The moment Ben flopped against his bed and sighed, he raised his head to find Kel sitting on the corner of his desk. Instinctively he leapt back up with a scrunched face of concern, curiosity and a trace of fear.

"Kel! What are you doing here at this gawd-awful hour!"

Kel shrugged with a slight smile. "I…I just wanted to see you again, to hear your voice one more time, to have one last laugh at your expense"

"What?"

"In the universe I'm from…in the future I might add, Albedo killed you and took over the world, then that wasn't enough so he went to tackle the universe. So Azmuth and Paradox sent me back in time to this reality to stop it from happening to you"

"You're some kind of special agent or something?"

"Top of the top"

"What about Gwen?"

"She's only got a few more days of battle left before she takes maternity leave…we're hoping it's a boy"

"And Julie?"

"Suicide; she just couldn't live without you"

"But…wait, hold on! I thought if we knew the future, the whole space time continuum would implode…"

"That's _your _future, which means since our _realities _are different, it's not going to do anything" Kel stood and opened a vortex on a far wall. "And in case you haven't figured it out, Kel is the first letters of my names to make a new name"

"Kevin Ethan Levin?"

"Bingo. And, Ben?"

"Yeah?"

Kel walked over to Ben before embracing him in a kindly friendship hug. "Take it easy on Kevin, he may be a punk, but his hearts in the right place" with this he let go and walked though the vortex.

Everything returned to normal; Ben sat on the edge of his bed and tried making sense of it all.

END.

* * *

**A/N:** Hopefully this ties everything together into a satisfactory conclusion. And many apologies if I've offended anyone whom knows first hand the taboo subjects of _death_ and _suicide_…it's a ghost of my past that just won't leave me alone!

Much appreciation to everyone whom reviewed and is going to review, you'z peoplez makes me unbelievably happy :}


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